MST3K 303 - Pod People
The Movie Synopsis A trio of poachers travel deep into an incredibly foggy forest, searching for game. Unfortunately for one of them, he instead stumbles across a poorly-lit cave (whom Joel and the bots mistake for Hell, Yoda's swamp, blindness, and a jar of Smucker's Raspberry Preserve), filled with huge eggs. Smashing them, he irritates an unknown creature ("It's the Easter Bunny and boy is he mad!"-Joel), who quickly kills him. Angered, the creature begins to go on a destructive rampage. To add to the terror, a group of unappealing young people takes a break from recording nightmarish music (Lyrics provided by Mrs. Johnson's kindergarden class - Crow) to travel by RV to the area for a camping trip. Meanwhile, Tommy, a little boy with an oddly dubbed voice and a lot of pets, finds the lone survivor of the egg-related carnage in the cave and decides to bring it home. It hatches, and the creature, whom Tommy names Trumpy ("I prefer Milky Bear"- Crow), is born and eats lots of food. Meanwhile, the other alien bumbles through the forest until she finds the band, and pushes a groupie off a small cliff. Critically injured, the other band members take her to Tommy's house, where she eventually dies from her injuries. In Tommy's room, Trumpy demonstrates his ability to do "magic things", and creates a wacky stop-motion extravangza ("Oh great, now we're in Gumby"-Joel) with his eyes. Other people travel to a ranger station in an attempt to use the radio, but they find the other alien and the corpse of a poacher. One of them is felled by the vicious five-foot high monster but the other escapes. Unfortunately for him, the alien gets back to the house faster and attacks another band member in the RV. ("Looks like she found Trumpy!" -Joel) Tommy witnesses the event through his telescope and believes that Trumpy is responsible for the muderous mayhem. Everyone decides it's safer to stay in the cabin for the night, but the evil extraterrestrial follows them inside and kills another band member when she takes a shower. Tommy unsuccessfully tries to sneak Trumpy out of the house, but he's caught by his mother, who grabs a rifle and tries to shoot his alien pal. He and Trumpy flee into the foggy woods, and everybody else pursues him. Trumpy and his mom finally meet one another before she's gunned down. ("Huh, a self-burying monster."-Crow) Tommy, being a jerk, leaves him in the woods and goes back home with his mother and the only surviving band member before the credits roll. Information * This was originally intended as a low-budget horror movie about an evil alien on the prowl. However, in order to cash on the success of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), the producers demanded script changes at the last minute, by adding elements of the said film by including a child along with adding another, more lovable and cute alien to serve as a playmate (hence one alternate title for the movie, Extra Terrestrial Visitors). The film's Director Juan Piquer Simón was not satisfied with the final result.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086026/ * Pod People was released by Film Ventures International, and as with most FVI films uses footage from a completely unrelated movie as background for the opening credits. In this case, the footage shown during the movie's opening credits was taken from the 1985 film Galaxy Invader, which would later be tackled by Mike, Kevin, and Bill as a Rifftrax Video On Demand feature. * A widely-circulated rumor that script was submitted to Steven Spielberg as a sequel toE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) is false. * Originally filmed in French and Spanish; the actors learned both languages. It premiered in France before Spain. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Crow does a segment from his one-man show, "Robot on the Run", and Tom does the intro to his own show. Invention Exchange (Segment One): Joel demonstrates a new guitar chord that blows up in his face, while the Mads wail along with their new royalty-free Public Domain Karaoke Machine. Segment Two: Joel and the Bots sing their own version of the song from the movie, "Idiot Control Now". While the Mads like it, Joel declares that "It stinks!" Segment Three: Joel teaches Crow about creating new age music, leading to a new segment, "Music From Some Guys in Space" Segment Four: Trumpy's magic causes mayhem on the SOL, confusing the Mads and thrilling Joel. Segment Five: As Joel and the bots pack up, they conclude the show with the beautiful "Clowns in the Sky", but the Mads don't like it. Stinger: "It stinks!" Other Notes Guest Stars Studio Assistant: Faye Burkholder (uncredited) Trivia * That's makeup lady (and occasional writer) Faye Berkholder as the recording studio assistant in Deep 13. For years, many fans actually thought it was writer Bridget Jones. Callbacks * “Puma? Puma!” (Ring of Terror) Goofs * When Joel says “Trumpy, you can do STUPID things!” in the theater, he’s referencing a line by the little kid, Tommy, who says: “Trumpy, you can do magic things!” Unfortunately Joel does that riff about 10 minutes BEFORE Tommy says the original line. Obscure References *''"Pod People got no reason to live"'' -Joel. A reference to the satirical 1977 Randy Newman song "Short People" which contends (ironically) that "short people got no reason to live". *''"Pod People, isn't that Nia Peeples brother?"'' -Tom. Nia Peeples is a singer and actress. *''"Mayo..."'' -Joel. "Don't you do it! Don't you do it! I got nowhere else to go!" -Servo, during invention exchange. From the movie An Officer and a Gentleman. Richard Gere is the one who says "Don't you do it! I got nowhere else to go!" Zack Mayo is Richard Gere's name in the movie. Louis Gossett's character is trying to get Mayo to give him his DOR (dropped on request). *''"Chief!?" "McCloud!?"'' This comes from an the 1970s mystery TV show McCloud starring Dennis Weaver as a cowboy-hat-wearing detective. It was part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie shows that were referenced several times in seasons 2 and 3. *''"Now, to find a herd of cattle to drain dry"'' Possibly a reference to the blood-sucking urban legend, El Chupacabra (which some people believe is an alien). *"She's in shatters"'' "This town's in tatters."'' Reference to the Rolling Stones song 'Shattered'. *''"Tonight, on 'Music from the Hearts of Space'..."'' Music from the Hearts of Space is a syndicated radio show that focuses on New Age music. *''"And remember: No wire hangers!"'' -Tom Servo when the mother puts the child to bed. Servo references the movie Mommie Dearest, which includes a scene of Joan Crawford (played by Faye Dunaway) having a psychotic episode upon finding wire clothes hangers (of which she disapproves) in her children's closet. *''"Football practice!"'' "Football practice!" comes from the horror movie Shocker according to the MST catch-phrase catalog. *''"These are cola nuts. These are uncola nuts."'' A reference to a long-running 7-Up advertising campaign starring multitalented Trinidadian-American actor Geoffrey Holder explaining the difference between kola nuts and "uncola nuts" -- lemons and limes. This was in the late 1970s, when the catch phrase for the lemon-lime soft drink was "the UNcola". *''"Daktari..."'' Daktari was a 1960s TV series about a veterinarian working in Africa. *''"They're gonna die in that Samurai jeep anyway."'' The Suzuki Samurai was a compact SUV that drastically declined in popularity after a Consumer Reports article suggested that it was dangerously prone to rollovers. * Crow - "It's a Peter Gabriel video!" Tom - "Yeah, somebody hit that kid on the head with a SLEDGEHAMMER!" The scene of Trumpy causing telekinetic havoc in the boy's bedroom does indeed somewhat resemble the bizarre imagery (achieved though stop-motion animation) in the "Sledgehammer" video. *''"Get me, I'm Lionel Richie!"'' A reference to the song "Dancing on the Ceiling" (Trumpy is supposed to be standing on the ceiling when this line is heard). *''"Can she carry moonbeams home in a jar?"'' A reference to the song "Swingin' on a Star", written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke. Originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1944, it has been consistently popular and was later used as the theme song for the 1980s TV sitcom Out of This World. *''"This kid sounds like Georgette..."'' Georgette was a character on the popular television series "The Mary Tyler Moore" show. She was played by actress Georgia Engel. Sweet but slightly dim-witted, Georgette had a distinctive "baby-doll" voice. *''"Potatoes", etc. -Crow Crow is imitating John Hurt's voice as Joseph Merrick in ''The Elephant Man. *''"Whoa, it's the Iron Maiden dude!"'' A reference to Eddie the Head, the mascot of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, to whom The Galaxy Invader bears a strong resemblance. *''"I like you, Tommy. I'll kill you last".'' -Servo, as Trumpy. This is a reference to the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie ''Commando'', when he, in the role of John Matrix, tells Sully, the weaselly former Special Forces soldier, "You're a funny guy, Sully. I like you. That's why I'm going to kill you last". Later he tells Sully, "I lied," just before killing him. *''"He seeks him here. He seeks him there. He seeks that rascal everywhere.", -Crow Crow is spoofing a line by Sir Percy Blakeney, a character from The Scarlet Pimpernel. *"Something there is that doesn’t love a crummy monster film... That's from 'Mending Monster Film.'"'' As indicated, from a Robert Frost poem, specifically Mending Wall. *''"It's been seven—oh."'' The dreamy synth music almost makes Servo break into "Nothing Compares 2 U." *''"I know what you're thinking Tommy. Did Mom fire 6 shots or only 5?"'' -Crow after Tommy helps Trumpy escape. Crow paraphrases Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry. *''"Boldly backing away from where no man has gone before"'' -Servo, as Joel & the Bots watch a star field swiftly receding Paraphrase of Star Trek: The Original Series intro, "To boldly go where no man has gone before". Just after this, they start humming the ST:TOS theme, then switch to the Steve Miller Band's "Swing Town" (which has the same first 2 notes). *''"Come on and dance"'' -Servo A line from the song "Swing Town" by the Steve Miller Band. *''"I'm Curly Neal..."'' -Joel (pretending to balance the earth on his finger.) Curly Neal was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters. Fancy dribbling was his trademark. *''"That guy's gonna get his Presidential Physical Fitness Award"'' -Joel. This is a reference to a federal program started by President Lyndon Johnson to promote activity in school children. *''"She's Zestfully dead!"'' A long-lived slogan for Zest body wash informed consumers that "You're not fully clean until you're Zestfully clean!" *''"So people are being methodically killed off by the Banana Splits."'' The Banana Splits was a children's variety show running from 1968-1970. The Banana Splits themselves were a group of anthropomorphic animals that vaguely resemble Trumpy and his mother. * "Oh, it's Laura Palmer." A reference to the cult TV series Twin Peaks, which initially focused on the murder of a teenage girl named Laura Palmer. * Trumpy...Trumpezoid...The Trumpmonster." ''- Crow Crow is imitating Richard Laymer, a character played by Rob Schneider on ''Saturday Night Live. *''(Tommy!) Can you hear me?'' A line from The Who rock opera Tommy. * "Isn't this Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army?" "In cars..." A reference to the song "Cars" by Gary Numan (who was indeed a member of the new wave group Tubeway Army, but he recorded this song as a solo artist, not as part of Tubeway Army.) * "Hey, we're the cast from ''Straw Dogs." A reference to Sam Peckilnpah's highly controversial 1971 film ''Straw Dogs, in which a couple living in a rural cottage are tormented by a gang of locals (most notorious for an extremely graphic rape scene.) Memorable Quotes : singers' camper belching out lame music from the radio. : Servo: Boy! Ringo did some bad songs, but this is embarrassing! : two remaining poachers sit around a campfire planning on how to get out of the woods. : Poacher 1: Hey, why don't we take the kid's camper? : Poacher 2: .....Are you CRAZY!? : Joel Poacher 1: Uhhhh....can I think about it? : Poacher 2: Haven't you screwed things up enough already? : Crow: Well...He DID write "the script." : Joel and Servo: HUZZAH!! : feeding Trumpy milk. : Tommy: Oh boy! You keep drinking milk like that, you're going to grow up real big and strong! Then we can play together! You know what playing is don't you? : Crow Trumpy: Yes! It's where I break you in half! : excited after Trumpy shows him his "powers." : Tommy: You can do "Magic Things!" : Crow Trumpy: It's called "Evil" kid! : Tommy reunites with his mother and the surviving campers, they leave Trumpy behind. : Crow Trumpy: Hey! Don't leave me here! I was raised by a child, I can't survive in the wilderness! Video Release *Commercially released on VHS by Rhino Entertainment in October 1996. *Commercially released on DVD by Rhino in February 2003 as part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 2, a 4-DVD set with Cave Dwellers, Angels Revenge and Shorts Volume 1. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 3 Category:Foreign Film Category:80s Movie Category:Mystery Science Theater Hour Episodes Category:Star Trek spoofs Category:Arnold Schwarzenegger references Category:Unrated movies Category:Movies directed by Jim Mallon